Apparatus for descaling pipes



April 28, 1964 A. J. 'REINHART APPARATUS FOR DESCALING PIPES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 22, 1960 INVENTOR ALBERTO JOHANN REINHART A. J. REINHART APPARATUS FOR DESCALING PIPES April 28, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 22. 1960 I 'iuPErvroR ALBERTO JOHANN REINHART WM ATTORNEYS April 28, 1964 A. J. REINHART APPARATUS FOR DESCALING PIPES 35h t-Sh t as; ea 5 Filed April 22, 1960 ALBERTO JOHANN RZINHAR] TTORNEY United States Patent 3,130,431 APPARATUS FOR DESCALING PRES Alberto Johann Reinhart, 24 Via Cortivallo, Lugano, Switzerland Filed Apr. 22, 1960, Ser. No. 24,635 Claims priority, application Switzerland Apr. 22, 1959 8 Claims. (Ci. 15-164..96)

The present invention is concerned with an apparatus for the descaling of pipes.

A method is known for descaling water, gas or the like pipes, tubes or conduits, hereinafter referred to generally as pipes for the sake of convenience, by mechanical means which pipes become blocked in time by deposits of lime, rust or other materials. According to this method a scraping device is pushed into the pipe, with the help of a driving device, which utilizes a part of the energy of water or some other liquid which is forced under pressure into the pipe to be cleaned.

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel form of apparatus for descaling pipes, which operates on this principle. This apparatus, thus, has a thrusting device, which utilises a part of the energy of any liquid flowing through the pipe to be cleaned, and is characterised by a first unit, comprising at least two cutting and scraping tools, followed by the thrusting device aforesaid which, for its part, is followed by a second unit comprising at least two crushing tools, the various tools and the thrusting device being connected together by hinges which permit the apparatus to pass through curved sections of pipe, and further characterised in that each of the cutting and scraping tools has a row of knives which extend in the manner of the edges of a pyramid and by means of a flexible system are pressed against the wall of the pipe which system includes a group of springs, of which each operates on one of the knives and is mounted on a sleeve displaceable on an axial bar to which the knives are hinged and comprises also a spring which surrounds the bar and pushes back the sleeve, each knife moreover having a front part for cutting into deposits in a radial plane and a back part, V-shaped, for penetrating into grooves produced by the knives for breaking up the deposits and at the same time scraping the pipe well, while the crushing tools also have ribbed rollers pressed flexibly against the wall, the whole in such a manner that the V-shaped parts scrape the whole periphery of the wall and the rollers crush the deposits between themselves and the wall, in that they are displaced mainly in an axial direction.

The attached drawings show, by way of example, one embodiment of apparatus according to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the whole apparatus,

FIG. 2 is an axial section through the first cutting end scraping tool of the apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the front part of the tool of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a partial section taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of one of the knives of the tool of FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged side view partly in section of the front part of the second cutting and scraping tool of the apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of a torsionally strong hinge connection or the apparatus of FIG. 1,

FlG. 8 is an enlarged plan view partly in section of a hall joint connection of the apparatus,

FIG. 9 is an enlarged axial section through the crushing tool of the apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 10 is a further enlarged plan View of a roller support arm of the tool of HG. 9, and

3,139,431 Patented Apr. 28, 1964 FIG. 11 is also a further enlarged partial front view of the crushing tool.

The apparatus illustrated comprises a first unit forming the front part of the arrangement and which consists of two scraping tools 1 and 3, followed by a thrusting device 5 which itself is followed by a unit constructed from two crushing tools 7 and 9. The first cutting and scraping tool 1 is connected to the second tool by means of a hinge device 2; the second cutting and scraping tool is coupled to the thrusting device 5 by means of a hinge device 4. The connection between the thrusting device 5 and the first crushing tool 7 and between the latter and the similar tool 9 is provided by hinge devices 6 and 8. The hinge connections 2, i and 8 permit the various units to incline relative to each other in all directions, but not to rotate against one another. The hinge device 6 on the other hand also permits a relative rotation of the groups 1, 3 and 5 in relation to the crushing tool pair. This is necessary because the thrusting unit is inclined to turn around its own axis when pushing forward in a pipe whereas the units 7 and 9 do not rotate at all. The unit containing the scrapers 1 and 3 on the other hand cam follow the thrusting unit 5 in its rotational movements and for this reason the hinge connections 2 and can be torsionally strong.

The cutting and scraping tool 1 surrounds a center bar 11, see FIG. 2, on the front end of which a sleeve 12 is mounted. A nut 15 screwed on to the end of the bar is provided with a stirrup 16 which is welded on, to which a cable can be connected for raising the apparatus and a helical spring 17 is supported by a sleeve 1? which is disposed on a nut 21 screwed on to the bar 11. The back end of the bar ll has an eye 11' which is used for couphng the bar to the hinge device with the help of a pin or a bolt.

The sleeve 12, for its part, supports a ring 13 which is mounted on said sleeve by means of screws 22, and from which ring extends a plurality of curved knives 14 which present together a raised, arched structure. The ring 13, together with said knives, forms a cutting head which is used to open an entry through deposits which can build up right into the central or axial zone of the pipes. The end of the sleeve 12 opposite to the ring 13 has bearings 32 for one end 23 of each of the six knives 24, which extend towards the back part of the bar and diverge from one another. The knives 24 are held in their positions in the hearing by a ring 32' which is mounted on the sleeve 12 by means of screws 32", and each knife has an arm 24 which is C-shaped in cross section along the most put of its length with the concave side of each arm 24 being adjacent the bar 11. A straight blade 25, curved blade 26 and a second straight blade 27 are mounted in sequence on the back of each arm 24. Two blades 28 are arranged in a V-shape and extend from the blade 27. The cutting edge of each blade 28 has such a profile that the two blades as a whole abut with their two edges over their whole length on the wall of the pipe to be cleaned. It is a matter of course that each apparatus for cleaning pipes will be constructed to clean pipes of a definite cross section having a tolerance of plus or minus some percentages. The blades 25, 26 and 27 cut into deposits in a pipe being cleaned in a radial plane. The blades 28 follow the cuts of said blades to break and loosen the deposit previously cut into, in that they penetrate with their apices into the radial cuts produced by the blades 25, 26 and 27. The blades 28 also scrape the pipe Wall. So that the deposits can be cut and scraped when the apparatus is being pushed forward in the pipes the ends of the V formed by the knives must be firmly pressed against the pipe wall. This task is eflected for each arm 24 by respective leaf springs 29 the one end of which is mounted onto the pyramid part back end of the arm 24. In order to regulate the tension of the springs 29 a hexagonal plate 38 is provided, which plate 30 is displaceable on the sleeve 19 and thus can be moved towards'or away from the pyramid part of the sleeve 19 with the help of screws 31.

The small displacements of each knife are taken up by the appropriate leaf springs. If one or more of the knives should closely approach the bar 11, for example as a result of hitting a hard mass, the sleeve 19 would be displaced against the action of the spring 17, which would result in all the knives approaching the bar 11 and said bar is, therefore, always situated in the center of the group of knives.

The arms of the knives can also be so constructed that the back is directed against the bar 11. In this case the blades 25, 26 and 27 will be arranged between the wings of the arms and the wings of the arms will serve also as blades. Such variance in the execution is, for example, applicable for the cleaning of oil pipes, in which the deposits which form are relatively soft.

The number of knives on each tool can consist of any practical number between 4 and 24.

The cutting and scraping tool 3 is constructed similarly to the preceding tool 1 with the only difference being that the cutting head 13, 14 is absent. The tool 3 is hinged in such manner, relative to the tool 1, that its knives are displaced by 30 relative to those of the first tool, so that both tools as a whole scrape the whole periphery of the pipe.

The thrusting means 5 is a conventional device, for example of the same type as a turbine, known in the field of apparatus for descaling pipes. It utilizes a part of the energy of water or other liquid which is forced under pressure into the pipes and since its speed is greater than that of the apparatus is used simultaneously to remove the deposit loosened and crushed by the apparatus.

As already stated the thrusting device 5 is followed by a group of two or possibly three such as crushing tools 7 and 9, the task of which consists of breaking up the pieces of deposit loosened by the knives but which have not been carried along by the current of liquid. The crushing occurs, in that these pieces of crust are crushed between the pipe wall and rollers, as explained later. These rollers are also used to destroy the deposits adhering to the pipe wall after the knives have passed.

The two crushing tools are identical and therefore only one will be described with reference to FIGS. 911. The tool encloses a center bar 41, which has on both ends an eye 42 for coupling, with the help of pins or bolts, to the one or the other of the hinging devices 6 and 8. A hexagonal plate 43 is wedged close to the front end of the bar 41, which plate 43 is prevented from rotating by a pin 56 projecting into a groove 53. This plate 43 has 6 radial arms 57. A head 55 is hinged on each of these arms, and one end of a thick steel blade 46 is mounted on each head 55 while the other end of each blade supports a second head on which a barrel-shaped roller 48 is journalled. The radius of the curvature of the rollers 48 are the same as the one used to descale the pipes. The rollers 48 each have several ribs disposed in zig-zag lines, and each consists preferably of discs layered one adjacent the other, of which each has such a rib. The rotary axis of each roller is disposed normal to the respective bar 41 and the plane containing the arm 46, so that the roller is in contact with the wall of the pipe over its whole width. In its center axis the bar 41 supports a plate 43' which is similar to the plate 43. The plate 43' supports arms 46 provided with rollers 48'. The two roller units'are disposed at 30 relative to one another. For adjusting the pressure or the rollers against the pipe wall, two round discs 49 and 52 are provided with conical peripheral surfaces with their distance from each other being decided by two stop members 50, which are mounted on a bar 51 which is welded on to disc 52. Nuts 54 make it possible to regulate the position of the unit formed by the two discs relative to the hinges on the arms 46 and 46. The plates 43 and 43' are blocked axially on the bar 41 by the stop members 53. Instead of six arms 46, only five or even more than six could be provided.

The second crushing tool is coupled to the first in such a manner that its rollers are disposed relative to those of the first tool by 15, so that the tracks covered by the various rollers over-lap one another.

FIG. 6 shows the front part of the scraping tool 3, which differs from tool 1 by the absence of the cutting head.

FIG. 7 is an embodiment of the hinged device 2 or 4 or 8, which requires no particular explanation.

The ball joint 5 shown in FIG. 8 is of particular construction. It shows an arm 76 which is provided at one end with a spherical head 73 and on the other end with an eye 77. The ball 73 is enclosed in the cylindrical bushing provided by cylindrical bushing 71 and cup 72. The seat of the cup 72 is spherical and has the same diameter as the ball 73. This latter is provided with a conical protrusion 74, which corresponds to a conical recess 75 in the base of the cylindrical bushing 71. In operation the hinge is under tensional stress and the ball 73 is supported on the seat of the cups 72. When the apparatus is being inserted into a pipe it is an advantage. if the hinge connection between the thrusting unit 5 and the crushing tool is partially rigid, in order to prevent tilting. This strengthening is produced by the protrusion 74 which penetrates into the recess 75 in such manner that the hinged unit 6 acts as a rigid member in relation to the axiai stresses.

The task of the blades 26, which are rotatable on the arms 24, consists in the feature of making it easier for the tool 1 to take up impacts, when it strikes hard bodies. The V-shaped arrangement of the blades 28 on the bed 28' makes it possible to exert a lubricating efiect on the blades, thanks to the water penetrating into the cavity which is limited in this manner.

In one variant of execution the knives are pressed against the pipe wall by means of an oil pressure system instead of by metal springs.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for descaling pipes comprising a first unit constituted by at least two cutting and splitting tools each comprising an axial bar, a plurality of arm supported knives each including a front part for cutting into pipe deposits in a longitudinal plane and a V-shaped back part for penetrating into said cuts in said deposits and simultaneously splitting the deposit on the pipe wall, said knives being arranged according to the edges of a pyramid around said axial bar and having one end of their arm hingedly connected thereto, a sleeve displaceable along said bar, a plurality of knife-loading springs mounted on said sleeve and each acting on a respective one of said knives tending to space said knives radially outwards from said bar, and a sleeve-loading spring tending to move said sleeve away from said hinged connection of said knives, a thrusting device which, in operation, is capable of being moved by a part of the energy of a liquid flowing through the pipe being descaled; a second unit constituted by at least two crushing tools each having a plurality of ribbed barrel-shaped rollers which are resiliently urged radially outwards; and hinges connecting said first unit, said thrusting device and said second unit successively together in such a manner as to permit the apparatus to pass through curved pipe sections.

2. Apparatus for descaling pipes comprising a first unit constituted by at least two cutting and splitting tools each comprising an axial bar, a plurality of arm supported knives each including a front part for cutting into pipe deposits in a longitudinal plane and a V-shaped back part for penetrating into said cuts in said deposits and simultaneously splitting the deposit on the pipe wall, said knives being arranged according to the edges of a pyra mid around said axial bar and having one end of their arm hingedly connected thereto, a sleeve displaceable along said bar, a plurality of knife-loading springs mounted on said sleeve and each acting on a respective one of said knives tending to space said knives radially outwards from said bar, and a sleeve-loading spring tending to move said sleeve away from said hinged connection of said knives, said cutting and splitting tools being arranged successively with said knives of each said tool angularly displaced relative to said knives of the next adjacent one of said tools; a thrusting device which, in operation, is capable of being driven by a part of the energy of a liquid flowing through the pipe being descaled; a second unit constituted by at least two crushing tools each having a center bar and a plurality of ribbed barrelshaped rollers whose rotary axis are normal to said center bar and which are resiliently urged radially outwards; and hinges connecting said unit successively together in such manner as to permit the apparatus to pass through curved pipe sections.

3. Apparatus for descaling pipes comprising a first unit constituted by at least two cutting and splitting tools each comprising an axial bar, a plurality of knives each in the form of a C-sectioned arm having a series of longitudinal blades for cutting into pipe deposits in a longitudinal plane followed by a pair of blades arranged in a V-shape for penetrating into said cuts in said deposits and simultaneously splitting the deposit on the pipe wall, said knives being arranged according to the edges of a pyramid around said axial bar and being hingedly connected thereto, a sleeve displaceable along said bar, a plurality of knife-loading springs mounted on said sleeve and each acting on a respective one of said knives to urge said knives radially outwards from said bar, and a sleeveloading spring tending to move said sleeve away from said knives, said cutting and splitting tools being arranged with said knives of one of said tools being angularly displaced relative to the knives of the others of said tools; a thrusting device which, in operation, is capable of being driven by a part of the energy of a liquid flowing through the pipe being descaled; a second unit constituted by at least two crushing tools each having a center bar and a plurality of ribbed barrel-shaped rollers which are resiliently urged radially outwards; and hinges connecting said first unit, said thrusting device and said second unit successively together in such manner as to permit the apparatus to pass through curved pipe sections.

4. Apparatus for descaling pipes comprising a first unit constittued by at least two cutting and splitting tools each comprising an axial bar, a plurality of knives each in the form of a C-sectioned arm having a first longitudinal blade, a second circular blade rotatable in a longitudinal plane, and a third longitudinal blade for cutting into pipe deposits in a longitudinal plane followed by a pair of blades arranged in a V-shape for penetrating into said cuts in said deposits and simultaneously splitting the deposit on the pipe wall, said arms being arranged according to the edges of a pyramid around said axial bar and being hingedly connected by one end thereto, a sleeve displaceable along said bar, a plurality of knife-loading leaf springs mounted on said sleeve and each acting on a re spective free end of one of said arms to urge said knives radially outwards from said bar, and a shock absorbing sleeve-loading spring tending to move said sleeve away from said knives; a thrusting device which, in operation, is capable of being moved by part of the energy of a liquid flowing through the pipe being descaled; a second unit constituted by at least two crushing tools each having a center bar and a plurality of ribbed barrel-shaped rollers whose rotary axis are normal to said center bar and which are resiliently urged radially outwards; and hinges connecting said first unit, said thrusting device and said sec- 6 0nd unit successively together in such manner as to permit the apparatus to pass through curved pipe sections.

5. Apparatus for descaling pipes comprising a first unit constituted by at least two cutting and splitting tools each comprising an axial bar, a plurality of knives each in the form of a C-sectioned arm having a first longitudinal blade, a second circular blade rotatable in a longitudinal plane for cutting into pipe deposits in a longitudinal plane, followed by a pair of blades arranged in a V-shape for penetrating into said cuts in said deposits and simultaneously splitting the deposit on the pipe wall, said arms being arranged according to the edges of a pyramid around said axial bar and being hingedly connected by one end thereto, a sleeve displaceable along said bar, a plurality of knife-loading leaf springs mounted on said sleeve and each acting on the respective free end of one of said arms to urge said knives radially outwards from said bar, and a shock-absorbing sleeve-loading spring tending to move said sleeve away from said knives; a thrusting device which, in operation, is capable of being moved by part of the energy of a liquid flowing through the pipe being descaled; a second unit constituted by at least two crushing tools each having a plurality of ribbed barrelshaped rollers which are flexibly urged radially outwards; a torsionally-strong hinge connecting said first unit and said thrusting device and a rotation-permitting hinge connecting said thrusting device and said second unit together in such manner as to permit the apparatus to pass through curved pipe sections.

6. Apparatus for descaling pipes comprising a first unit constituted by at least two cutting and splitting tools each comprising an axial bar, a plurality of knives each in the form of a -C-section arm having a first longitudinal blade, a second circular blade rotatable in a longitudinal plane for cutting into pipe deposits in a longitudinal plane, followed by a pair of blades arranged in a V-shape for penetrating into said cuts in said deposits and simultaneously splitting the deposit on the pipe wall, said arms being arranged according to the edges of a pyramid around said axial bar and being hingedly connected by one end thereto, a sleeve displaceable along said bar, a plurality of knife-loading leaf springs mounted on said sleeve and each acting on the respective free end of one of said arms to urge said knives radially outwards from said bar, and a shock-absorbing sleeve-loading spring tending to move said sleeve away from said knives; a thrusting device which, in operation, is capable of being moved by part of the energy of a liquid flowing through the pipe being descaled; a second unit constituted by at least two crushing tools each comprising a central bar, a plurality of resilient arms arranged around said central bar, said resilient arms each being connected by one end to said central bar and a ribbed barrel-shaped roller carried by the other end of each one of said resilient arms and being flexibly urged radially outwards; and hinges connecting said first unit, said thrusting device and said second unit successively to gether in such manner as to permit the apparatus to pass through curved pipe sections.

7. Apparatus for descaling pipes comprising a first unit constituted by at least two cutting and splitting tools each comprising an axial bar, a plurality of knives each in the form of a C-sectioned arm having a first longitudinal blade, a second circular blade rotatable in a longitudinal plane for cutting into pipe deposits in a longitudinal plane, followed by a pair of blades arranged in a V-shape for penetrating into said cuts in said deposits and simultaneously splitting the deposit on the pipe wall, said arms being arranged according to the edges of a pyramid arour id said axial bar and being hingedly connected by one end thereto, a sleeve displaceable along said bar, a plurality of knife-loading leaf springs mounted on said sleeve and each acting on the respective free end of one of said arms to urge said knives radially outwards from said bar, and a shock-absorbing sleeve-loading spring tending to move said sleeve away from said knives; a

thrusting device which, in operation, is capable of being moved by part of the energy of a liquid flowing through the pipe being descaled; a second unit constituted by at least two crushing tools each comprising a central bar, a plurality of resilient arms arranged around said central bar, said arms each being connected by one end to said central bar, a ribbed barrel-shaped roller fabricated from a plurality of discs arranged side-by-side and carried at the other end of each one of said arms, each said disc having a peripheral rib of zig-zag formation, means flexibly urging said roller radially outwards; and hinges pivotally connecting said first unit, said thrusting device and said second unit successively together in such manner as to permit the apparatus to. pass through curved pipe sections.

8. Apparatus for descaling pipes comprising a first unit constituted by at least two cutting and splitting tools each comprising an axial bar, aplurality of knives each in the form of a C-sectioned arm having a first longitudinal blade, a second circular blade rotatable in a longitudinal plane for cutting into pipe deposits in a longitudinal plane, followed by a pair of blades arranged in a V-shape for penetrating into said cuts in said deposits and simultaneously splitting the deposit on the pipe wall, said arms being arranged according to the edegs of a pyramid around said axial bar and being hingedly connected by one end thereto, a sleeve displaceable along said bar, a plurality of knife-loading leaf springs mounted on said sleeve and each acting on the respective free end of one of said arms to urge said knives radially outwards from said bar, and a shock-absorbing sleeve-loading spring tending to move said sleeve away from said knives; a thrusting device which, in operation, is capable of being moved by part of the energy of a liquid flowing through the pipe being descaled; a second unit constituted by at least two crushing tools each comprising a central bar, a plurality of resilient arms arranged around said bar, said resilient arms eachbeing connected by one end to said central bar, a ribbed barrel-shaped roller carried at the other end of each of said arms, means urging said rollers radially outwards, said resilient arms of each crushing tool being angularly displaced relative to said resilient arms of the next adjacent crushing tool; and hinges pivotally connecting said first unit, said thrusting device and said second unit successively together in such manner as to permit the apparatus to pass through curved pipe sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED .STATES PATENTS 160,203 Kees et a1. Feb. 23, 1875 518,638 Weston Apr. 24, 1894 597,421 Krueger Jan. 18, 1898 971,042 Hill et a1. Sept. 27, 1910 1,181,310 Hodgman May 2, 1916 1,531,439 Haydock et al Mar. 31, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS 225,827 Germany Sept. 20, 1910 

1. APPARATUS FOR DESCALING PIPES COMPRISING A FIRST UNIT CONSTITUTED BY AT LEAST TWO CUTTING AND SPLITTING TOOLS EACH COMPRISING AN AXIAL BAR, A PLURALITY OF ARM SUPPORTED KNIVES EACH INCLUDING A FRONT PART FOR CUTTING INTO PIPE DEPOSITS IN A LONGITUDINAL PLANE AND A V-SHAPED BACK PART FOR PENETRATING INTO SAID CUTS IN SAID DEPOSITS AND SIMULTANEOUSLY SPLITTING THE DEPOSIT ON THE PIPE WALL, SAID KNIVES BEING ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE EDGES OF A PYRAMID AROUND SAID AXIAL BAR AND HAVING ONE END OF THEIR ARM HINGEDLY CONNECTED THERETO, A SLEEVE DISPLACEABLE ALONG SAID BAR, A PLURALITY OF KNIFE-LOADING SPRINGS MOUNTED ON SAID SLEEVE AND EACH ACTING ON A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID KNIVES TENDING TO SPACE SAID KNIVES RADIALLY OUTWARDS FROM SAID BAR, AND A SLEEVE-LOADING SPRING TENDING TO MOVE SAID SLEEVE AWAY FROM SAID HINGED CONNECTION OF SAID KNIVES, A THRUSTING DEVICE WHICH, IN OPERATION, IS CAPABLE OF BEING MOVED BY A PART OF THE ENERGY OF A LIQUID FLOWING THROUGH THE PIPE BEING DESCALED; A SECOND UNIT CONSTITUTED BY AT LEAST TWO CRUSHING TOOLS EACH HAVING A PLURALITY OF RIBBED BARREL-SHAPED ROLLERS WHICH ARE RE- 